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I got my 2012 535xi back after having it recoded and a tire replaced. I actually left my JB4 tune installed. The car seems fine and can't say it's any different. There is no throttle lag, maybe some turbo lag but that was/is there tune or no tune. I never really had the experience where you could slam the gas peddle down and nothing would happen for a second or two. I would definitely not spin the tires off the line, but it still moved. Now to re-code half the stuff that is missing again.

I just turned in my 2011 535i, October 2010 build, to BMW after they settled a Lemon Law suit. This ends a 37-year long love affair with BMW.

The car had the tip-in/hesitation problem since it was new and had all the software updates except this last one. Each update led to only temporary improvement. As I told the arbitration board, I never knew what was going to happen when I pressed on the accelerator, either after a full stop or while cruising. There could be whip-lash surges, usually one but sometimes two or three - sometimes immediate, other times after a period of hesitation, both a safety issue in my opinion, and certainly disconcerting. Acceleration was often characterized by jerkiness, and downshifts were also rather jerky. Other times acceleration was perfectly smooth and seamless.

The technical representative from BMW stated that he found nothing wrong with the car and that my complaints were the result of normal functioning of the adaptive transmission. The technical representative on the arbitration board said that it seemed to him that this was the opposite of adaptive behavior.

I now have a Mercedes and it is a great relief to no longer experience this erratic behavior. The car also seems a little more solid, ie, less "floaty". But it is not a BMW, and I shall miss that.

Reading the posts on this F10 forum has been an enjoyable and informative experience. Thank you.

I just turned in my 2011 535i, October 2010 build, to BMW after they settled a Lemon Law suit. This ends a 37-year long love affair with BMW.

The car had the tip-in/hesitation problem since it was new and had all the software updates except this last one. Each update led to only temporary improvement. As I told the arbitration board, I never knew what was going to happen when I pressed on the accelerator, either after a full stop or while cruising. There could be whip-lash surges, usually one but sometimes two or three - sometimes immediate, other times after a period of hesitation, both a safety issue in my opinion, and certainly disconcerting. Acceleration was often characterized by jerkiness, and downshifts were also rather jerky. Other times acceleration was perfectly smooth and seamless.

The technical representative from BMW stated that he found nothing wrong with the car and that my complaints were the result of normal functioning of the adaptive transmission. The technical representative on the arbitration board said that it seemed to him that this was the opposite of adaptive behavior.

I now have a Mercedes and it is a great relief to no longer experience this erratic behavior. The car also seems a little more solid, ie, less "floaty". But it is not a BMW, and I shall miss that.

Reading the posts on this F10 forum has been an enjoyable and informative experience. Thank you.

Good for you, but:

1) it seems to me that your abandoning of the BMW brand is nothing BUT emotional and dictated by the stuff you've just gone through. That's KIND OF understandable but not quite... You are leaving the whole brand just because a first MY gave you grief? I can guarantee you there are millions of awesome 2011 535i out there (mine included). They don't hesitate or jerk and put a smile on your face each time you take off from the lights. I'd simply pick up another unit if I were you. It's like buying your favourite brand 60" TV, bringing it home to find out it's broken. You return it and pick up another model of the same TV instead of getting mad at the whole company and never buying a TV from them again.

2) you will be back to BMWs before you know it. MB sucks... (and you probably know it too but are still a bit emotional about the whole thing, understandably...)

I just turned in my 2011 535i, October 2010 build, to BMW after they settled a Lemon Law suit. This ends a 37-year long love affair with BMW.

The car had the tip-in/hesitation problem since it was new and had all the software updates except this last one. Each update led to only temporary improvement. As I told the arbitration board, I never knew what was going to happen when I pressed on the accelerator, either after a full stop or while cruising. There could be whip-lash surges, usually one but sometimes two or three - sometimes immediate, other times after a period of hesitation, both a safety issue in my opinion, and certainly disconcerting. Acceleration was often characterized by jerkiness, and downshifts were also rather jerky. Other times acceleration was perfectly smooth and seamless.

The technical representative from BMW stated that he found nothing wrong with the car and that my complaints were the result of normal functioning of the adaptive transmission. The technical representative on the arbitration board said that it seemed to him that this was the opposite of adaptive behavior.

I now have a Mercedes and it is a great relief to no longer experience this erratic behavior. The car also seems a little more solid, ie, less "floaty". But it is not a BMW, and I shall miss that.

Reading the posts on this F10 forum has been an enjoyable and informative experience. Thank you.

This description of the problem is spot on. That's exactly how my car behaves. The dealer has acknowledged that my car does not operate as it should and it's in the shop getting the latest software update. Hope it works.

First post or not, it was a solid post. He didn't bash the vehicle or BMW, just described his experience, which was in-line with several other long time board members.

So I'm not sure what first post has to do with anything.

Yeah after thinking about it I think you are right.

A while back a friend of mine made a deal with BMW to take back his 6 series. It was all under non-disclosure. So this guy probably did not want his main account linked to himif he was under NDA. So he is probably being extra cautious.

1. Hesitation to downshift and respond to throttle when they are underway
2. Inability to pull away from a stop smoothly.

All updates to date address 1 not 2

Before reading this thread, I attributed the hesitant accelerating to the N20 528i being simply under-powered in its xDrive version (and the AT settings still allowing the the 7-8th gear when coasting, which brings rpm down to 1100, which is way too low for enough torque... etc).

Now, I'm sure I definitely do have symptom No. 1 (but not 2). I checked with my dealer - the newest software is present (and the car's build date is 2012-10-25).

Quote:

Originally Posted by douggie

All I want is a "daily driving" mode that has the throttle responsiveness of the DS mode, but without the gear holding at high rpms. Don't tell me that I have to toggle back and forth just to overtake. I'd buy a manual transmission if I want to mess with the shifter.

If they made the car laggy just because of fuel consumption, they're targeting the wrong audience. I'd buy a prius if I wanted good gas mileage.

Spot on, but what can one do - temporarily switching to DS with paddles is all that can be done when instant acceleration is needed (to avoid accident, for instance ).

But frankly, now that I know it's a software issue, I feel somewhat less frustrated with my downsized little engine Software can - and let's hope will - be fized, sooner or later. And for the time being, I have my DS mode...

I have had the car for a few days now after the update. It definitely drives different, I have not experienced the "lurching" forward while in motion. There are a couple of spots on my daily route where I slow down to turn with the winding road and then press the gas. I was so used to the "lurching" forward that the first couple of times I thought there was something wrong with the car .

However, the inability to pull away smoothly from the stop sign - I'm not sure it's fixed. I was able to pull away smoothly may be about 90% of the time. It's definitely better than before, but I have a feeling it's going to come back. I want to think that it's just in my head, but time will tell if it has been completely fixed.

Before reading this thread, I attributed the hesitant accelerating to the N20 528i being simply under-powered in its xDrive version (and the AT settings still allowing the the 7-8th gear when coasting, which brings rpm down to 1100, which is way too low for enough torque... etc).

Now, I'm sure I definitely do have symptom No. 1 (but not 2). I checked with my dealer - the newest software is present (and the car's build date is 2012-10-25).

Spot on, but what can one do - temporarily switching to DS with paddles is all that can be done when instant acceleration is needed (to avoid accident, for instance ).

But frankly, now that I know it's a software issue, I feel somewhat less frustrated with my downsized little engine Software can - and let's hope will - be fized, sooner or later. And for the time being, I have my DS mode...

Yes, your hardware is fine. If the hardware is bad, switching to DS won't help. It's not a magic lever.

I just had mine updated yesterday but I won't comment on the update. Too early to tell. I checked the version via the Idrive profile and it is F001-12-07-520.

I've had the latest update for two weeks now and overall it is an improvement. However, a couple of times from a dead stop the take off was very jerky and not linear. But overall I'm pleased with the performance.

Today, a new problem came up which I'm guessing is unrelated to the tip-in problem. As I accelerated from a dead stop today the car lurched forward a couple of times and I heard some thumps and the orange DSC light came on for a second or two. I shifted into the DS mode and then back to normal and then it drove fine. This sounded like it did when I had a transmission malfunction about a year ago. That problem resolved itself by putting the car in Park and then turning the car off and then restarting the car.

Interesting, do you get fully compensated for your purchase in this instance, or do they deduct some kind of depreciation?

When BMW bought back my E60 (didn't go as far as Lemon Law) the amount they deducted from the purchase price was calculated using the odometer reading of the first incident. Luckily for me the first incident was very early on with low miles so my buy back amount was substantial.

Forget the throttle adaptive programming via the start button - that is not a fix. Been there, done that.

Thanks Shawn, and all the others who took this issue to ground. You serve the BMW community, and the manufacturer. Congrats also to BMW for addressing the issue with software updates and improvements.

I'm a new guy to the forum, but this is my 4th BMW. Recently purchased a 2011 528i because I wanted to stay clear of turbo lag. Imagine my shock when I found the throttle tip-in problem - it is far worse than turbo lag. I was ready to immediately sell the car and go looking for a new marque. Which is beyond sad.

BMW is working this throttle tip-in nonsense, and as other posters have noted it is definitely a safety issue. Do not accept the tip-in lag. Without the programming updates this car is a hazard to drive: poor accelerator pedal response , lurching launch, and irregular application of throttle at speed. All detailed within this forum. The problem is most definitely a software-related problem. That is a great engine under your hood. Get it fixed by BMW and recover the car you paid for, one that better represents the tradition!

Forget the throttle adaptive programming via the start button - that is not a fix. Been there, done that.

Thanks Shawn, and all the others who took this issue to ground. You serve the BMW community, and the manufacturer. Congrats also to BMW for addressing the issue with software updates and improvements.

I'm a new guy to the forum, but this is my 4th BMW. Recently purchased a 2011 528i because I wanted to stay clear of turbo lag. Imagine my shock when I found the throttle tip-in problem - it is far worse than turbo lag. I was ready to immediately sell the car and go looking for a new marque. Which is beyond sad.

BMW is working this throttle tip-in nonsense, and as other posters have noted it is definitely a safety issue. Do not accept the tip-in lag. Without the programming updates this car is a hazard to drive: poor accelerator pedal response , lurching launch, and irregular application of throttle at speed. All detailed within this forum. The problem is most definitely a software-related problem. That is a great engine under your hood. Get it fixed by BMW and recover the car you paid for, one that better represents the tradition!

Yes. A car with this much of a tip-in lag is really unsafe to drive because you are loosing control on one of the primary functions of a car - acceleration. Some are saying that BMW is doing it for the fuel consumption numbers, but it's crazy to trade personal safety for that!

With the software update, it's better, but it's still far from the sharp response you get from the DS mode.

I don't find the Drive Sport mode to be any sort of good alternative. DS simply changes the shift points. If you lift off the throttle in a turn and then attempt to re-apply power you will find a massive magnified lag in DS. Not to mention that DS mode makes this fine sedan drive like a spastic teenager is controlling the throttle. The difference between my dearly departed E60 and the F10 are stark and very evident. The issue is related to this poorly conceived 'efficient dynamics' gimmick.

I don't find the Drive Sport mode to be any sort of good alternative. DS simply changes the shift points. If you lift off the throttle in a turn and then attempt to re-apply power you will find a massive magnified lag in DS. Not to mention that DS mode makes this fine sedan drive like a spastic teenager is controlling the throttle. The difference between my dearly departed E60 and the F10 are stark and very evident. The issue is related to this poorly conceived 'efficient dynamics' gimmick.

That was my experience, exactly, when driving the 2013 535i, 335i, and the 528i. Very disappointing.

I can confirm that the latest software update (in my case, to F010-13-03-505 according to the ISTA/P printout I was given) doesn't change much (in any mode - Comfort or Sport), and it's very disappointing.

I also agree that - apart from being in contradiction with the "BMW spirit" - the throttle lag is simply dangerous in normal traffic situations; the second of delay in reaction to the gas pedal can make avoiding accident impossible.

I also observed something almost unbelievable: testing the reaction to gas pedal after the software update, I pressed the pedal to the floor and nothing happened at first, then the car accelerated like crazy - so I let go on the gas pedal immediately, but the car kept accelerating for the next half of a second! Very dangerous
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I can confirm that the latest software update (in my case, to F010-13-03-505 according to the ISTA/P printout I was given) doesn't change much (in any mode - Comfort or Sport), and it's very disappointing.

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Excuse the novice question, but how does one confirm F010-13-03-505, or different? What is an ISTA/P printout, how do you obtain, and can you do this yourself without being at the dealer?